SPRINGFIELD — The group Alive with Awareness, Knowledge and Empowerment (AWAKE), the NAACP and state Rep. Ben Swan, among others, will hold a Monday evening rally in Court Square to support federal charges in the Trayvon Martin case, according to DeJuan T. Brown, executive director of AWAKE.

The 8 p.m. rally will include local youth, a candlelight vigil, speeches and performances, said Brown, whose nonprofit organization is dedicated to combating street and gang violence in Springfield by working with high-risk youth, victims and victims' families.

DeJuan Brown

Outrage over a jury's decision to clear George Zimmerman in the February 2012 shooting death of Martin, an unarmed Florida teenager, has resulted in street protests and calls for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman, who was acquitted Saturday. The case has reignited questions about crime and racial bias in America. Martin was black; Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.

Demonstrations large and small have erupted across the country, with many Martin supporters decrying the not-guilty verdict as a miscarriage of justice. The NAACP has called for federal civil rights charges to be filed against Zimmerman, and the Rev.Talbert W. Swan II, president of the NAACP's Springfield chapter, is among those expected to attend this evening's downtown rally.

Rev. Talbert Swan

Brown said the rally is intended "to express outrage" over Zimmerman's acquittal. The event will also support nationwide demonstrations and efforts to encourage the U.S. Department of Justice to file formal civil rights charges in the case, he added.

Organizers are asking rally participants to bring candles and packages of Skittles, the candy Martin had on him when he was shot dead by Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department says it's looking into the case to determine if federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman has been acquitted of criminal charges in the state case.

After three weeks of testimony, basic facts in the high-profile case remained murky, including details of how the altercation between Zimmerman and Martin began. There were no witnesses to the shooting, which Zimmerman claimed was in self-defense after Martin knocked him to the ground, punched him and slammed his head against the sidewalk multiple times.

Jurors found Zimmerman not guilty of murder or manslaughter, conceding that he could have been justified in shooting Martin because he could have been seriously injured or killed from having his head slammed into the ground repeatedly. Zimmerman sustained head wounds from the episode, according to officials.

The prosecution painted Zimmerman as a "wannabe cop" and an overzealous member of a neighborhood watch group, who confronted a young black man because he believed the teen was up to no good.

Tonight's event is sponsored by AWAKE, the Springfield chapter of the NAACP, the Political Action Council of Greater Springfield, Swan and local Springfield youth. Additional information is available at (413) 657-8716 or by emailing awakeincspringfield@gmail.com.

Material from the Associated Press and New York Times was used in this report.